This invention relates to a connector capable of detecting a half-fitted condition.
Among conventional connectors capable of detecting a half-fitted condition of a pair of housings, there is known the type of connector including a pair of connector housings, and a fitting detection member attached to one of the connector housings (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
In this conventional connector, a lock arm is provided at the one connector housing, and can be elastically deformed toward a bending space by the other connector housing. Elastic arms are provided at the detection member, and can be elastically deformed in accordance with the bending movement of the lock arm. Reception portions are provided respectively at the elastic arms, and when the elastic arms are elastically deformed, these reception portions are retainingly engaged respectively with retaining portions of the one connector housing, thereby preventing the detection member from being pushed into the bending space. When the pair of connector housings are properly fitted together, the elastic arms of the detection member are elastically restored into their initial condition in accordance with a restoring movement of the lock arm, and the retaining engagement of each retaining portion with the corresponding reception portion is canceled, so that the detection member can be pushed into the bending space.
Therefore, in the properly-fitted condition of the pair of the connector housings, the detection member can be pushed into the bending space, and therefore the worker can detect the fact that the pair of connector housings has been properly fitted together.
[Patent Literature 1] US2004/0023547A1
In the above conventional connector, however, the elastic arms of the detection member were elastically deformed in accordance with the bending movement of the lock arm, and therefore when the detection member was used a plurality of times, it was feared that the restoring ability of the elastic arms might be lowered, and there was a possibility that the durability of the detection member was lowered.
Furthermore, in accordance with the bending movement of the lock arm, the elastic arms of the detection member were moved backward in a direction opposite to the fitting direction, and also were opened or moved away from each other in a widthwise direction, and therefore it was necessary to secure spaces for allowing the backward movement of the detection member and the opening movement of the elastic arms, and as a result the size of the connector increased.